


Little Moments

by msred



Series: Puckleberry Shuffle [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Birthday, Brad Paisley - Freeform, F/M, Puckleberry, Road Trip, sleepover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-10
Updated: 2012-06-10
Packaged: 2017-11-07 10:24:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msred/pseuds/msred
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yeah I live for little moments like that"</p><p>"Shit!" Rachel's hand flew to her mouth as soon as the word was out. They both felt the jolt and heard the sickening metallic crunch as the rear end of the truck hit something, probably a fence post.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Moments

**_Well I'll never forget the first time that I heard  
That pretty mouth say that dirty word  
And I can't even remember now  
What she backed my truck into  
But she covered her mouth and her face got red  
And she just looked so darn cute  
That I couldn't even act like I was mad_ **

Rachel clutched her and Noah's jackets to her chest as she scanned the crowded room. She was glad that her boyfriend was ok with leaving the party so soon after getting there, but now she couldn't find him anywhere. She just wanted to get out of Santana's house, because although nothing particularly bad had happened, everything just felt wrong. "Hey Rach, everything ok?" She felt a heavy arm drape over her shoulders as she heard Finn's voice slurring in her ear. And there it was, one of the main reasons everything felt wrong at the party. For once, everyone was being nice to her, she felt like she had friends (even if really, they were Noah's friends, and only being nice to her because of him, but she would take what she could get), but now this one certain person was being a little too nice.

"Umm, yeah," she continued to look around the room, standing on her tip-toes to try to get a better view, "I'm just looking for Noah so we can leave." She held out the coats as if to provide Finn with proof of her intentions.

"Awwww, but you just got here," Finn leaned on her a little and she looked up to see a fake pout plastered on his face. That look, the one that would have melted her six months ago, annoyed the crap out of her.

"Yes, but _we've_ been here long enough for Noah to have a few drinks," she stressed the word 'we' to assure Finn that she had no plans to do anything or go anywhere without Noah at her side, "and now _we_ need to get out of here before my slightly drunk boyfriend does something we'll all regret." She didn't tell him that the thing her boyfriend might do that they would all regret (although, in reality, Puck probably wouldn't regret it at all) was kick his ass for being just a little too cozy with Rachel. Ever since they walked through the door, Finn couldn't keep his eyes, or often his hands, off her. "Ooh, there he is!" She waved in Noah's direction, "Noah! Over here!"

"Oh, hey," it was clear he had been looking for her too, because his shoulders relaxed and he smiled when he saw her. "There's my girl," he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her temple. "Hudson," he addressed him drily, giving him a not-so-subtle "touch her and I'll kill you" look. While Puck trusted Rachel, and he believed her when she said that she no longer had any romantic feelings toward Finn and she promised to be faithful, that shit was not cool. Although he and Finn were friends, though not quite the same as they used to be, deep down he sometimes thought that Finn pulled this crap with Rachel as a form of revenge for things that had gone down in the past.

"Finn was just helping me look for you. You know, since he has a better vantage point and all," she giggled and nuzzled into his embrace. Normally, she was very against lying, but in this case, nothing had happened with Finn (she would have relieved him of his genitals herself if he had tried anything), and since Noah was already pretty buzzed, it just made sense to smooth things over. Rachel knew that Puck had a problem with how affectionate Finn was toward her, as if it was some sort of elaborate evil plot for payback (Finn, really?). She just thought it was because Finn was lonely, and for the first time, she wasn't just waiting to jump back into his arms at the first opportunity. She didn't think he knew how to handle that.

"Welp, here I am," Puck captured her lips in his for a brief, but searing, kiss. "You ready to go?" He ran his hand down the back of her head, wrapping his hand around her hair at the base of her neck and forming it into a loose ponytail before running his hand down the rest of the length and letting it go. He knew she loved when he played with her hair, and he didn't exactly mind. There was something like, sneaky-sexy about that hair. She nodded and stared up at him with those eyes he just wanted to dive into. He couldn't be 100% positive, but he was pretty sure she never looked at Hudson that way. She reached toward him to hand him his coat, but he took them both from her, shrugging his on then helping her into hers. They waved back at Finn, who, Puck noticed with satisfaction, looked like he had just been punched in the stomach.

"Have I told you lately how awesome you are?" He tried to hide his snicker as he watched her fiddling with the seat adjuster bar, trying to position herself so that she could reach the pedals and steering wheel and still be able to see out the windshield. Since they had already decided that she would be the designated driver, it would have made much more sense to bring her car, but then Santana had gotten all bitchy and insisted that Rachel come over right after school to get ready together and help her set up for the party. Not that he minded, 'cause his girl looked crazy hot in Santana's clothes (not that there was anything wrong with her own clothes, but seeing her in something a little more, well, naughty, occasionally was kinda cool), but that meant that Santana had followed Rachel home from school just long enough to drop off Rachel's car and he had to drive to Santana's himself for the party. That was why he was now sitting in the passenger seat of his own truck watching his adorable girlfriend try to situate herself to drive the vehicle that just seemed much too large for her.

"Define lately," she smirked at him. He laughed as he leaned across the seat to rest his hands on her hips and nip gently at her lips.

"You're awesome babe," he felt her smile against his mouth. "The awesomest." She ran a hand over his mohawk and rested it on the back of his neck, letting her fingers scratch through his hair. She placed one more chaste kiss on his lips before gently pushing him away in order to start the truck. He had been smart enough to park halfway down the block where the road dead ends into a field, even though he was one of the first to arrive and the driveway was mostly empty. He wanted an easy escape in case they decided to leave early for some reason. Good call. "You know babe," he started once she had adjusted her mirrors one last time and cut the wheel to pull out and around the little Honda in front of them, "if you want you can just -," He didn't finish his thought because he suddenly felt the truck lurch backward.

"Shit!" Rachel's hand flew to her mouth as soon as the word was out. They both felt the jolt and heard the sickening metallic _crunch_ as the rear end of the truck hit something, probably a fence post. Other than the bright red hue of her face, Puck couldn't see anything wrong with her, but he still wasted no time in undoing his seatbelt to slide across the seat and cradle her in his arms.

With one arm around her shoulder, he used the other hand to run over her body, inspecting for injuries. "You ok Rach? Everything ok? Does anything hurt?"

"I'm fine," she choked out, almost sobbing. His eyes flew to her face, panicked. She said she was fine, and he hadn't found any blood or anything, no area that he touched made her scream in pain, but she was crying. "I'm just – Oh Noah, I'm so sorry!" She buried her head in his shoulder and within seconds he felt her tears soaking through his shirt. He kissed the top of her head before lightly gripping her shoulders and pushing her away from him so that he could look into her eyes.

"Hey, I'm ok. Look, not a scratch on me!" She didn't seem convinced, because she kept crying, sniffling every few seconds.

"But … but your truck! I've ruined your truck! You probably hate me now," she sobbed, suddenly looking desperately into his eyes, "Please don't hate me Noah!"

He grabbed her and pulled her closer to him, lifting her legs over his so she was effectively sitting on his lap. She burrowed her head into the hollow of his neck and he rubbed his hand slowly up and down her spine. "Alright, just slow down killer. First of all, hate you? Let's get serious here. I thought I was sposed to be the drunk one." He peeked down at her face, hoping to see even the smallest trace of a smile. No such luck. "But Rachel, have you seen my truck? I mean really, if anything you probably made it look better. Hey! Maybe your dent will camouflage the dent from when I was pulling Finn behind me on my skateboard and I _accidentally_ stopped too fast. Seriously, I mean, you can legit see the outline of his face!" He felt her shoulders shake and he heard a noise, and while he couldn't tell if that noise was a giggle or a hiccup, it definitely wasn't a sob. He was making progress.

"You're not mad at me?" She looked up at him from beneath her lashes and her voice sounded tiny, like a little child. He had come to realize that his girl was pretty badass herself, and he had kind of forgotten how vulnerable she could be.

"No babe," he pushed the hair away from her face, "I'm not mad at you. I'm fine, you're fine, and the truck's always been a piece of shit." He relaxed when he saw a hint of a smile. "Now, can we just go home? What I was trying to say before was that if you want, you can just stay the night at my house. Ma said it was ok. Actually, it was kinda her idea. I mean, not that I don't want you to, I just wouldn't have really thought of asking her, but she said she doesn't like the idea of you staying home alone when your dads are gone. Said it makes her feel better to _know_ you're safe. I'm inclined to agree," he smirked.

Rachel shifted on his lap so that she could really study his face. He honestly didn't appear to be angry. She wondered how exactly she had managed to end up with him, to get so lucky. "I would love that Noah," she kissed him sweetly when she saw the smile he tried to hide. "But you're still inebriated, and there's no way I'm letting you touch the keys, and I doubt you want me driving now. I think we may be stuck here for a while." Her face fell; she hadn't realized how much she wanted to spend the night at Noah's house until she thought she might not be able to.

"Don't be stupid," Rachel gasped, but she relaxed when she saw the playful look he was giving her. "Of course I still want you to drive. You're like, the best driver I know. Let's just make sure we get it in 'drive' this time and not 'reverse,' and we're golden." He knew she was pretty much back to her normal self when she slapped him, hard, on the shoulder before sliding off his lap and back behind the wheel.

When they were about a block from Puck's house, he started to laugh uncontrollably. When they reached the stop sign at the corner of his street, Rachel turned and looked at him as if he had just grown three heads. "Noah Puckerman, what on earth has gotten into you? I _know_ you weren't that drunk. Is your buzz just now starting to hit you or something?" Apparently she said something funny, because he only laughed harder. "Noah! Tell me what you're laughing at!"

He took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself enough to actually talk. "You … you cussed!" He burst into hysterics again and pointed across the truck at her. She continued to stare at him like he was crazy. "Rachel Berry said 'shit!'" He held his stomach as he laughed even harder. She only gasped.

"I – I was scared! It shocked me! Noah please, you can't tell anyone," she looked at him as if she were begging him not to tell anyone that she had just robbed at bank or something.

"Don't worry gorgeous, my lips are sealed," he moved to unlatch his seatbelt as she pulled into his driveway. "Besides," he chuckled, "s'not like anyone would believe me anyway. Wow, I guess I really am a bad influence on you."

She smiled at him as she removed the keys from the ignition and dropped them into his waiting palm before sliding her own palm almost painfully slowly up his thigh. She giggled when she saw the way his eyes widened when her hand climbed even higher and dropped to the inside of his leg. "Yeah, but only in the best possible way."

**_Yeah I live for little moments like that_ **

**_~.~_ **

**_Well that's just like last year on my birthday  
She lost all track of time and burnt the cake  
And every smoke detector in the house was goin' off  
And she was just about to cry until I took her in my arms  
And I tried not to let her see me laugh_ **

"Ma? Squirt? What's that smell? It smells like something's burning. Everything ok?" Puck had come home from school to a distinct burning smell and a vaguely hazy living room. It was strange. His mom didn't cook often, and when she did it was basically simple, fool-proof stuff that she couldn't really mess up. He really hoped Sarah hadn't gotten into her brain to try to cook something. That could be a disaster. He dropped his backpack by the door and toed off his shoes before quickly making his way to the kitchen. He didn't see anyone at first, partly because of the smoke, and partly because there really didn't seem to be anything to see. It wasn't _that_ smoky, and yet there was no sign of movement whatsoever. He walked around the island to turn off the stove, and there, surrounded by oven mitts and towels and staring dejectedly at what looked like a large black brick, sat Rachel Berry in what appeared to be a new dress (a pretty freakin' hot one at that). "Wha … uhh … I mean, wow," he let out a deep breath and decided to just start from the beginning. "Where are Ma and Sarah?"

"Mall, Breadstix," she didn't even look up, just kept staring at that brick as if it would somehow magically transform into something edible.

"But, Ma's car is still here," he gestured toward the front of the house as if for proof, "and … yours isn't, by the way." He added that last part almost more for his own benefit. He hadn't registered that fact until that very moment.

She nodded. "They took mine." Without even looking up at him, she seemed to sense the look of confusion on his face. "It was supposed to be a surprise," she sighed. That's when it all sank in. Honestly, without his mom or little sister, or Rachel, come to think of it, gushing over him, he had forgotten it was his birthday. He had never put that much into birthdays, he learned early that was just a good way to get let down. After the third birthday in a row of his dad not showing up even after he promised he would, Puck stopped even asking. And while his mom always tried her best, he knew she did, he never got any of the things he really wanted. They just couldn't afford it. So, by the time his 18th rolled around, a birthday was just another day. But then, Rachel Berry hadn't been his girlfriend for any of his other birthdays.

He kicked what he assumed was supposed to be his cake to the side and squatted in front of her to force her to look at him. Not a moment too soon, he guessed, since her chin was starting to quiver and the next time she blinked there would probably be a river of tears streaming down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stood quickly, sweeping her up with him. He felt her clutching his shirt and was about to run his hands down her hair when he realized it was pulled back neatly and cascading down her back in bouncy curls. He decided maybe sticking his hands in it wasn't the best idea this time (but he made a note to make sure to do it later, it looked awesome). Instead, he just ran them up and down her back a few times before leading her over to the table to sit in a chair that he had to assume was at least more comfortable than her spot on the floor in front of his smoking oven. He pulled one of the other chairs over to sit directly in front of her and waited until she no longer looked like she was about to erupt into tears at any moment.

"So, wanna tell me what this is all about?" He smirked at her.

"Noah! It's your birthday!" She looked shocked and appalled that he didn't instantly understand everything that was going on around him.

"Is it?" He looked back at her in mock confusion. "I had no idea!" The irony of that statement being, of course, that it really _had_ slipped his mind. She slapped his arm and he rolled his eyes. "Ok, but that doesn't explain why you're here trying to burn my house down while my mom and my little sister are off at the mall or Breadstix, not really sure which, in _your_ car."

"Mall then Breadstix," Rachel informed him and he smirked, thinking that _of course_ that would be the part she would answer first. "Ok," she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes as if she were about to reveal her deepest, darkest secret to him. "Promise not to tell?"

He wanted to laugh. He wanted it so, so badly. But that would be bad. "Tell who, Ra-," he saw her glaring at him. "Right, I promise." He held up his hand to her displaying his first two fingers as proof that he would keep the promise. And still, he was trying almost impossibly hard not to laugh.

"We were throwing you a surprise party." He actually sat back in his chair and stared at her. Every time she did something, he swore to himself that was it, there was no way she could surprise him again. Then, she went and surprised him. "The first surprise was to be my being here when you got home, which is why your mother and sister took my car. Then, once we had a little time to celebrate your birthday, just the two of us … Don't get so excited," she rolled her eyes when she saw the way his face lit up when she said 'just the two of us,' "not _that much_ time. Anyway, I was supposed to get you to Breadstix for dinner, with dinner being code for big surprise party with all your friends. And my one responsibility, other than getting you to show up, which I knew would be easy, was to take care of the cake. And I couldn't even handle that! I went to get ready and I just wanted to look perfect for you tonight, and I guess I must have taken a bit too long, 'cause when I came back down there was smoke everywhere." She looked so dejected that all he could think to do was lean forward and kiss her. He kissed her lips, then her forehead, then finally her nose, before standing up and turning away from the table. "Wh – Where are you going?"

"To change," he said it matter-of-factly, as if it was just common sense and she should have known without asking. "I can't very well show up to my own birthday party looking like this," he waved both hands up and down his body, "with you on my arm looking like _that_." He took a step toward her and held one of her hands in one of his much larger ones, lifting it over her head and tugging a little until she stood and did a little spin in the middle of his kitchen. "Yeah, you look way hotter than me right now. Gotta fix that."

Rachel blushed in spite of herself and lowered her head. It seemed he was always saying things like that, but it never failed to make her feel a little warm inside. "So … you still wanna go, even after the big mess I made of the whole thing?" She called after him, following a few steps behind as he headed toward the stairs.

"'Course I still wanna go babe. You planned me a surprise party, shit's awesome! Just gimme a minute. Doesn't take me as long to get beautiful as it does you," he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to wink at her.

"Yeah right Puckerman, you just _wish_ you were as beautiful as me," she struck a model pose and smirked at him. Damn, when did his girl get so feisty? He just shook his head and began climbing the stairs, grateful that he would get a couple minutes out of her sight because he didn't know how much longer he could keep himself from laughing. Everything from the moment he had walked in the front door was just too much to handle.

"Just one thing Rach," she looked up at him, paused halfway up the stairs, and he realized that this vantage point afforded him an awesome view down her dress, "who's gonna explain to everyone that there's no cake 'cause Rachel Berry, master of 'I'm sorry' cookies and kick ass banana bread, burnt it to a crisp?" He barely had time to duck when one of his mom's hand-made throw pillows whizzed just over his head. _'At least her aim's improving,_ ' he thought.

When Puck and Rachel got back to his house after two hours at Breadstix with his mom and Sarah, Rachel's dads, and all their friends from glee, he thought he just may have pulled a muscle in his face from laughing and smiling so much. Sure, it was cool that everyone came to do that for him for his birthday. But that wasn't really what made him so happy. More than anything, he loved seeing his girl so … in her element. He kept her tucked into his side all night, and he couldn't miss the way she subtly (so she thought) held her breath and looked up at him every time he received another gift. And he didn't miss the way she blushed whenever someone, even Santana, told her that she had done a good job on the party. It was perfectly obvious how proud it made her that she was able to do that for him, and he loved that. "You wanna come in for a little while?" He looked across the truck at her and saw the mischievous grin that she was giving him.

"Yeah, I think I can do that," she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek before jumping out of the truck and heading for the porch. By the time he reached the front door, he could hear her telling his mother goodnight in the living room. His Ma and Sarah had left a bit early, along with Rachel's fathers, to give the kids a little extra time to hang out and so Sarah could go to bed. He decided to follow Rachel's lead and go talk to his mother for a minute before heading up to his room, which apparently Rachel had already disappeared to.

"Hey Ma," he leaned over the back of the couch and rested his cheek beside hers, "just wanted to say thanks, you know, for everything."

She lifted a hand to pat her son on the cheek, "Well Noah, you know Rachel pretty much did everything, and it was all her idea. I just played along." Puck captured her hand in his and trapped it against his face.

"Yeah, but I'm not just talking about the party. I mean, ya know, _everything_ everything." She only nodded and turned her hand a little to squeeze her son's fingers. He kissed the top of his mother's head and moved to go upstairs and meet Rachel.

"Noah," he stopped and turned toward her, "this is for you. I know I gave you a gift at the party, but this is just a little mother-son thing." He went back to take the card she was holding up for him. "Goodnight Noah."

Holding the card, Puck took the stairs two at a time to go see his girl. When he got to the room, the first thing he noticed was the small pink suitcase at the foot of the bed. That, and the fact that Rachel was nowhere in sight. "Rach?" He heard her giggle behind him and turned to see her standing in the doorway wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts. Well, she wasn't wearing _just_ that. He knew Rachel, and he knew that there was a pair of tiny shorts under there somewhere, because there was no way she would walk around his house in just the shirt, even if it was practically a dress on her. "What's up babe?" He sat on the bed and leaned one arm on the suitcase, lifting one eyebrow at her.

"You up for a sleepover?" She lifted one hand high above her head and leaned into the door frame. God, his girl was sexy, as if he needed the reminder.

"Really?" Now both eyebrows were lifted, because he was pretty sure there was no way this was really happening. Sure, she had stayed the night a couple times since that first time after Santana's party, but those were always unplanned stays when her dads were out of town and she didn't feel like being at home alone. And they always resulted in her sleeping in whatever she wore to school that day and leaving pretty much as soon as she woke up because of her "morning breath and unruly appearance." Whatever, she was still hot. But she had never, ever, brought over a suitcase. And she had certainly never pranced around wearing one of his shirts as a nightgown like that, or suggested a 'sleepover.' She bit her lip and nodded at him. "Fuck yeah!" He jumped off the bed and pushed her suitcase to the floor, moving to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair (yep, definitely gettin' his hands in _that_ later). He lifted her off her feet a little to kiss her before turning to close the bedroom door.

Rachel giggled when he set her back on the floor and then retreated to sit on the bed. She was pretty sure her suggestion of a sleepover had gotten an even bigger smile than those concert tickets Finn gave him. "Umm, Rach, you mind if I …" he was looking down at her uncertainly and his fingers hovered over the top button of his dress shirt. It wasn't like it was anything she hadn't seen before, but the context was different and the whole thing just felt … new.

"Of course Noah, this is your room." She waved at him casually and bent down to push her suitcase under the bed and out of the way. Even if it wasn't her room, she could still do her best to keep it tidy. "Hey Noah," he turned away from his dresser, where he was currently digging around for a pair of pajama pants, "what's this?" She held up the card his mother had given him. He must have dropped it in his excitement over her suggestion of a sleepover.

"Oh," he went back to his quest, "Ma gave me that downstairs. Just set it on the night stand." Finally finding his pants and slipping them over his boxers, he went to sit next to Rachel on the bed. "You ready to lay down babe? I'm kinda beat." He blushed as he reached for the remote to turn on the tv. It was totally not badass to be 'beat' this early on a Friday night, but at the moment he didn't care. He cared even less when she smiled and nodded at him and crawled across his bed to wiggle under the covers. He lifted the blankets on his side and settled into the comfort of his bed, pulling Rachel close to him.

"Did you like your party Noah?" she purred into his chest, running her fingers up and down his abs. He nodded when she looked up at him and lifted his head off his pillow to kiss her hair. "And all your presents?" He smiled again and pulled her up closer to him.

"Yeah, but your dads gave me the best gift," he was giving her that smile that no one else ever got to see.

"Really? It was just a cd. And I didn't even know you liked Daughtry that much." Her brows were furrowed, and dammit, she was just so cute when she was confused.

"Seriously babe?" he watched her and snickered. "Not really what I was talkin' about." He continued to watch her as realization dawned over her. He laughed a little harder when her face started to glow and he knew she understood.

"You're wonderful Noah," she pushed herself up off his chest to give him a long, slow kiss. "Happy birthday ." She settled back onto his chest and turned her attention to the television, where he had managed to find a perfectly decent movie on a cable channel. Pretty satisfied with himself, he reached over to the night stand to pick up the card his mother had given him. The front had some cheesy black and white picture of a little boy with his mom, but even though it was totally corny, it made him smile. The card didn't have any pre-printed message inside, but his mother had written him something of her own.

_Noah,_

_I am absolutely ashamed to say this, but I always worried that when your 18th birthday came around, all I would feel was fear at knowing that since you were officially an adult, the next time you got into trouble wouldn't result in juvie. But that's not what I feel at all. I look at you now, and I see a wonderful young man. I've always known you had it in you, but I was afraid that not having a father to guide you would keep that wonderful young man from getting out. But now, I can see that's not the case. And as much I would love to take credit for that, I can't. All the credit goes to two people: you, for finally realizing what you could be and making it happen, and Rachel for helping you realize it. I know you two are young, and things happen, but you need to know how special that girl is and how valuable she is for you. No matter what happens, she has helped you become this great man, and you owe her for that. Please don't ever forget that, and don't forget that in return, she deserves not only your affection, but your respect as well. I have no doubt that you won't let me down._

_Love,  
Ma_

Puck smiled and wrapped both arms around Rachel, pulling her even closer so that one of her legs draped over his and her upper body covered most of his left side. Yeah, his mom could be pushy, and subtlety certainly wasn't her strong suit (like it wasn't totally obvious to anyone with eyes that she was chomping at the bit for them to just grow up already so they could get married and give her lots of Jewish grandbabies), but she was also 100% right.

**_Yeah I live for little moments like that_ **

**_~.~_ **

**_I know she's not perfect but she tries so hard for me  
And I thank God that she isn't  
Cause how boring would that be?  
It's the little imperfections  
It's the sudden change in plans  
When she misreads the directions and we're lost but holdin' hands_ **

Rachel wasn't sure how she messed up so badly. She had this all planned out. It was simple; instead of heading east on I-76, she would just keep going north on I-71. They had already decided to leave a day early and spend the night before the show in Pittsburgh, because they didn't want to leave any possibility of missing the show. Well, she and Kurt didn't. Blaine and Puck seemed more interested in staying the night in a new city with their significant others than in arriving at least 24 hours early to make sure they were there for the tour production of "Wicked." So even though Rachel knew her little detour would add a few hours to the trip, they should still be ok. They would just stay and have dinner in Cleveland, then leave and check into their hotel that evening instead of earlier in the afternoon. But somehow, everything had gone wrong. They were almost two hours behind schedule and they hadn't even reached Cleveland yet. Luckily, Puck and Blaine were in the backseat having some epic PSP battle, so they didn't have a clue that they were, essentially, lost. Kurt had fallen asleep in the passenger seat 20 minutes into the ride. At first she was annoyed, because he was supposed to be her companion, to sit up front and keep her company on the long drive. But once she realized that her plans had gone awry somewhere along the way, she was thankful that Kurt wasn't awake to let her hear about it. But now he was waking up, and as he took notice of the signs around them, he was not happy.

"I gave you fool-proof directions Rachel! Fool-proof!" Kurt was waving his arms violently and screaming at Rachel. Puck and Blaine had noticed that something was taking place directly in front of them, but they were too involved in their game to hear exactly what, and they both knew from past experience that when those two fought it was better to just let them get it out themselves than to get involved. "How could you mess this up? Let me see those." Kurt reached for the directions Rachel had laid out on her lap. Panic etched on her face, she tried to pull them out of his reach, but with most of her attention focused on the road, her reflexes weren't quick enough. " _RACHEL!"_ Now their boyfriends were paying attention. "What is this? Cleveland! Why are these directions to Cleveland! Cleveland is over 100 miles north of Pittsburgh! What did you do? Pull over, right now!"

Rachel glanced into her rearview mirror and made eye contact with Puck. He looked confused, but not angry. "Kurt," she sighed, trying to keep her voice even, "we're on the interstate. I can't just pull over on the side of the road." She didn't want the others to hear the fear in her voice, because so far none of them seemed to have realized that not only had she gone and changed the plans by heading for Cleveland, but now she was lost and wasn't even quite sure where Cleveland was, let alone Pittsburgh or even Lima.

"Fine," Kurt huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "I just saw a sign for a rest area in two miles. You _will_ stop there." Afraid to say anything else, Rachel only nodded and looked back into the mirror, hoping to catch Puck's eye again. Sure enough, he was still watching her reflection, and when their eyes met, he smiled and gave her a little wink. He had her back.

Rachel turned off the car and dropped her head back onto the seat's headrest once the car was settled in a parking spot at the rest area. Puck snaked his arms around either side of the seat to rub his girl's shoulders gently. He could tell she was upset, probably about more than just Kurt's outburst, if the tension in her neck was any indication. She could hold her own with Kurt, and the best friends fought more than anyone he knew, so she didn't usually get this stressed over just an argument with him. "Ok," Kurt huffed, turning to glare at Rachel, "would you like to tell us all what this is about?"

"Well," Rachel started, staring at her hands in her lap while Puck gave her shoulders an extra little squeeze, "I just thought we would take a little detour. It wasn't supposed to interfere with the show – we should still be in Pittsburgh to check into our hotel tonight, which leaves tomorrow to see the city a little if we want then easily get to the theatre on time."

"But Cleveland Rachel? It doesn't even make sense! What the hell is in Cleveland?" Blaine and Puck shared a look in the backseat. They both knew, you don't just change plans on Kurt. It doesn't work that way. And if they were perfectly honest, they were wondering what on earth had gotten into Rachel as well. It wasn't like her to be spontaneous, especially when "Wicked" was on the line. And really, what _was_ in Cleveland?

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Rachel almost whispered her answer, and Puck's hands stilled on her shoulders. He had no idea how to respond to that, or even if he should.

"Are you kidding me!" Kurt threw his hands into the air, as much as possible in Rachel's small car, before flinging his door open and storming across the sidewalk and into the middle of the grassy courtyard beside the rest area building. Blaine smiled weakly at Puck before getting out to follow and comfort his boyfriend.

Puck leaned forward into the gap between the two front seats so that he could finally really see his girlfriend. Bringing one hand to her cheek, he turned her head so that she was looking back at him, and he could see the tears ready to spill out of her eyes. He was going to kill Kurt later. "What's going on in there?" He tapped her temple with his forefinger.

Rachel looked back at him, suddenly afraid to tell him her plan. She didn't know what she was afraid of, she had done it for him, but everything else had blown up in her face so far. "It's just, you've been so great to me, agreeing to this trip and everything. I mean, I know you don't really care about seeing 'Wicked.'"

"No, but I care about my girl, and getting to spend a night with her in a hotel room," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, making her giggle. "But seriously Rach, this trip wasn't supposed to be about me. It's about you, I'm here for you." He leaned forward to kiss her sweetly on the lips.

"Thank you Noah, that means the world to me. But I wanted to do something for you too. They've got this U2 exhibit that I think you would love, with a 3D movie and everything." Puck tried to hide his excitement, because he didn't want her to feel bad that her plans seemed to be falling through. But seriously, that was awesome. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her forward and kissed her again, harder this time. He kissed her until his chest burned, and just before he pulled away, he bit her bottom lip lightly, just to let her know just how much he wanted her right then. When he pulled back to look at her, she still had her eyes closed and she was panting a little. He loved having that effect on her. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him before looking out the window toward Kurt and Blaine. "Ok," she sighed. "I guess I should go talk to him." Puck nodded and got out of the car, stepping forward to open her door for her as well. He held her hand as they walked around the car, then loosened his grip so she could slip away to talk to her friend.

A moment later, Blaine had joined Puck and the two of them were sitting on the hood of Rachel's car, waiting for either her or Kurt's head to explode. "Kurt, will you just listen to me for a second?" Puck knew Rachel was getting more and more upset by the second, because her voice just went higher and higher. Soon only dogs would be able to hear her. He could tell Blaine was trying not to laugh, and he finally allowed himself to admit that the scene in front of them was pretty hilarious. Kurt was standing in the middle of the grass in all his designer jean, Marc Jacobs sweater glory with his hands planted firmly on his hips and his face a shade of red Puck wasn't sure he'd ever seen before, tapping his foot impatiently. Rachel was pacing in front of him, alternating between wringing her hands in front of her and waving them erratically above her head, stomping her little mary jane-clad foot occasionally. He didn't tell Blaine that he actually found it pretty adorable. "I thought it would be nice to do something for Noah and Blaine. Just because they are our boyfriends doesn't mean they have to love everything we love. And yeah, Blaine might be a little more interested in 'Wicked' than Noah is, but you know he wouldn't be here either if it weren't for you and the thought of all of us staying in a hotel in a city 250 miles away from our parents." Puck looked at Blaine, who raised his eyebrows and nodded in confirmation, making Puck laugh a little more.

"You know," Blaine said, drawing Puck's attention away from the comedy show in front of them, "officially, as Kurt's boyfriend, I'm upset right now," Puck smirked at him. "But as your friend, I gotta say, your girlfriend's kinda awesome." Both boys laughed and Blaine clapped a hand on Puck's shoulder.

"I know, badass, right," Puck spoke to Blaine but turned his eyes back to his little fireball of a girlfriend. "S'one of the reasons I love her." Before the words were even all the way out of his mouth, Puck was trying to draw them back in. He shifted uncomfortably and started to stammer, and when Blaine looked at him, his eyes were as big as saucers.

Blaine laughed a little harder, "You've never said that out loud before, have you?" Puck only shook his head, his eyes still huge and his jaw slack. "Definitely never said it to her then, huh?" Puck shook his head harder. "Right. Well, your secret's safe with me." Puck relaxed a little. So yeah, he guessed he did love Rachel. And it wasn't like he didn't want her to know, but he sure as hell didn't want her to find out from Blaine or Kurt. And he'd like to be a little more sure that she loved him. He knew she cared about him, but after all that crap with Finn she had become pretty guarded. He got that, and he respected it, he just didn't want to go laying it all on the line until he knew they were on the _same_ line. "So …" Puck shook himself back to reality when he heard Blaine's voice again, "love. Welcome to the club."

**_Yeah I live for little moments like that_ **

**_~.~_ **

**_When she's layin' on my shoulder on the sofa in the dark  
And about the time she falls asleep so does my right arm  
And I want so bad to move it  
Cause it's tinglin' and it's numb  
But she looks so much like an angel  
That I don't wanna wake her up_ **

"Alright Rach, your dads went to bed almost two hours ago and that was the third male enhancement commercial that you have failed to comment on. Bedtime," Puck brushed the hair off Rachel's face while her head rested on a pillow in his lap.

Rachel struggled to push herself up to a sitting position. She couldn't deny that she was drifting off, but she wouldn't admit it either. Though it now required two hands to count the number of times she had slept over at his house (one of the drawers in his night stand now contained a stick of Secret, a tube of both her facial cleanser and moisturizer, and a pink toothbrush), he had yet to stay the night with her. Her dads had become comfortable with the fact that she often stayed at the Puckerman house when they were out of town, and they had even let her stay over on his birthday although they were home. And to be honest, they were almost more comfortable with the idea of Noah sleeping over at their house; at least then they knew where their daughter was (not that they didn't trust her or thought she was out doing something she shouldn't be, they were just worrisome parents and liked the comfort of knowing exactly where their daughter laid her head at night, and even being able to peek in on their little girl if they wanted). But Puck was not comfortable staying over at her house. So, knowing that it was a long weekend and therefore she had an extra day to get back into her normal routine before going back to school on Tuesday, Rachel made a plan. Puck's rule was simple, he would stay as long as they were both awake, but as soon as she started showing signs of sleep, he went home. So Rachel decided that she just wouldn't go to sleep. She would force herself to stay up until morning, almost tricking him into staying the night, even if it wasn't in bed. "No no no! I'm awake, see," Rachel made an almost manic face at him for proof.

"Yeah," he laughed, "I can see that. But you weren't 30 seconds ago." He rolled his eyes at her signature pout. In the beginning that thing killed him, but now he was almost immune, since he knew she was almost always faking it just to get what she wanted. Pulling her to him with a hand on the back of her head, he brushed his lips lightly along her forehead. "And baby, you know that's my cue."

"Please Noah, please don't go. One more chance. Look, I won't even lay down, I'll sit up right here next to you." Well shit, this pout wasn't fake. She sat cross-legged beside him and stared at him with wide eyes, both of her hands clinging to one of his. It really wasn't fair.

"Ok, fine," he sighed, pulling his hand from her grasp to wrap his arm around her shoulders, "but I mean it Rach, I'm watching you. Your eyes close for more than three seconds and I'm putting you to bed and getting out of here." She nodded and smiled that million-watt smile that made his whole body tingle. He was so fucked when it came to this girl, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

About 30 minutes later, Puck and Rachel were still sitting on his couch watching the SVU marathon that she had lured him over with in the first place. Every couple of minutes he would tilt his head down to see if she was still awake. He meant what he said; as soon as she was asleep, he was out the door. It was nothing to do with Rachel, he loved spending nights with her. He had started to get to the point that it was hard to sleep in his own bed alone. But he was terrified of spending the night at her house. It was one thing to sleep with her in his house where he knew his mom would never walk into the room, and even if she did, it wouldn't really matter. It was something totally different to think about staying at her house, with her dads. It made him queasy just to think about. Hell, he barely liked to kiss her in front of them. He had never even met any other girl's dad. And Rachel had two of them. Two! But somehow, miraculously, she was still awake. It was kind of amazing what his girl could do when she was determined.

He knew it was finally time to leave when the detectives walked in on a crime scene full of children that made even Benson cry (she was one tough bitch!) and Rachel didn't flinch. He craned his neck to look down at her, and sure enough her eyelashes were fanned across her cheeks and her chest was rising and falling in a slow, gentle rhythm. It couldn't have come at a better time either, because for the last five minutes he hadn't been able to feel his right arm. But when he started to slide his arm out from under her head, she shifted, lifting her feet up off the floor to curl her legs into his lap and wrapping her arms around his waist. He sighed, a little disappointed that he wasn't going to regain the feeling in his arm any time soon. But at the same time, he couldn't help but smile. There was something about the way her body just molded into his that he couldn't get over. His smile transformed to a smirk when he realized that maybe her silly little plan was more clever than he had given her credit for. Even though it made him feel pretty awesome when he realized that she intended to keep him there all night by staying awake, he knew there was no way she would make it. Rachel Berry just wasn't a "staying up all night" kinda girl. But now, even though she had not in fact been able to stay up all night (duh), he was still there. And he was kind of trapped. Sneaky little girl.

Realizing there was no way to win this one (although really, wasn't this kind of winning?), he toed off his shoes and propped his feet up on the ottoman her dad usually kept in front of his armchair but had pushed over in front of Puck, knowing that his daughter was a couch hog. He decided that if he was going to have to end up staying the night eventually anyway, this was probably the best way to do it. Really, how upset could her dads get about him sleeping, fully dressed in his school clothes, upright on the couch? Ok, so it was still a little scary, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. When he scooted down to try to get a little more comfortable and find a position that didn't make his neck ache, his chin landed on the top of her head and he got a big whiff of her hair. He lowered his head to press his lips into the top of her head. "Love you Rachel Berry," he murmured. It was only the second time he'd ever said it out loud, and the first time in her presence, but he was kind of surprised at how natural it felt.

He froze when he felt her moving again. She wasn't supposed to hear that, not yet anyway. He couldn't risk telling her until he knew she felt the same way. Sure, he was a little worried about the rejection of saying it and not hearing it back, but he was even more worried about what it would do to her if it wasn't something she was ready to hear. She'd only had two boyfriends besides him, and both of them had professed deep feelings for her either without meaning it or without knowing what love really was. He couldn't classify himself with Jesse St. Jackass or Clueless Finn Hudson. So, when he finally did tell her that he loved her, he wanted to make sure that she knew he really meant it. He relaxed when she just nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder and sighed. "Love you too, Noah." Even though he could tell from her sleep-laced voice and the way the even rhythm of her breathing didn't change that she wasn't actually awake, his heart still jumped into his throat when she said those words. Yeah, it was a _really_ good night for his first sleepover at the Berry house.

**_Yeah I live for little moments  
When she steals my heart again and doesn't even know it  
Yeah I live for little moments like that_ **


End file.
